Every Nickname Iron Man Gave Other MCU Characters Explained

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is known for his wicked sense of humor, and one of the ways he showed that was by giving weird, but somehow apt, nicknames to other Marvel Cinematic Universe characters. These pet names functioned in varying ways – some of them are terms of endearment or playful jabs, while others are subtle insults. Regardless, Tony dished out a lot of monikers from 2008’s Iron Man to 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

Over the years, Iron Man had gone through a lot of things in the MCU, and that ultimately changed his perspective of the world. Starting off as a self-centered industrialist, he ended his arc as a selfless hero who gave up his own life for the safety of the whole universe in Endgame. The character had tremendous growth for the better, and while he still committed mistakes here and there, he always had good intentions.

While Iron Man’s outlook drastically changed in the last several years of his life, one thing was constant—his witty humor. This has become the signature brand of comedy for the MCU with newer quippy heroes like Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) joining the universe. Tony loved engaging in back-and-forth banter, making him so fun to watch. Most of the time during these fast-paced conversations, he also snuck in funny nicknames, resulting in a long list since he debuted more than a decade ago.

Rhodey

In the first Iron Man film, James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Terrence Howard) pretty much played babysitter for Tony Stark. He had to keep his friend in check as they worked together on the launch of the Jericho Missile in Afghanistan. Whenever Rhodey was seriously exasperated by Tony’s antics, the genius billionaire would smooth things over by calling his friend funny nicknames like “Honey bear,” “Platypus,” and “Sour Patch.”

The Avengers

Following Tony’s announcement he’s Iron Man, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) actively sought him out to join the Avengers Initiative. However, the hero spent most of Iron Man 2 shooting the offer down as he had bigger personal problems to attend to — he was dying from palladium toxicity from the arc reactor which was keeping the shrapnel out of his arc. During one of their conversations where Tony declined to join the Avengers Initiative, he called Fury’s project “Super Secret Boy Band,“ due to its under the radar nature and the team being ideally comprised of superheroes.

Black Widow

Introduced in Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) was sent by Nick Fury to look after Tony Stark as they feared he was dying. She took on the disguise of Natalie Rushman and became Tony’s assistant. She also promoted Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) to be the new CEO of Stark Industries as Tony feared he would eventually die from the palladium poisoning. After Fury admitted to planting Black Widow in his company, Tony called her “triple imposter,” which refers to her impressive deceptive skills. This makes sense since she’s a super spy.

Loki

Iron Man’s first encounter with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was during the God of Mischief’s attack on Germany in The Avengers, and given the villain’s headpiece design, the witty hero aptly called Loki “Reindeer Games.” Later on, as they transported him via the Quinjet, Tony once again took a jab at Loki’s appearance; this time, he zeroed in on his long black hair, calling him “Rock of Ages.” This is in reference to the Broadway musical/movie that features characters who have similar hairstyles.

Captain America

In their first-ever proper conversation in The Avengers, Tony Stark couldn’t help but bring up the fact that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) was frozen in ice for decades, which means the Super Soldier wasn’t up to date on the modern world. When talking about this, Tony referred to Steve’s time on the ice as him being a “Capsicle” which is a play on the word popsicle. Later on, in the same film, he poked fun at the Star-Spangled Avenger being a man out of time, calling him “older fellow” and “old man,” which Steve technically was.

Thor

Before Tony, Captain America, and Black Widow safely brought Loki to S.H.I.E.L.D. at the start of The Avengers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) hijacked their quinjet and took his brother, insisting he be tried on Asgard instead. This led to a brief battle between Iron Man and the God of Thunder in the forest. Not missing Thor’s cape, Tony called him “Shakespeare in the Park” and proceeded to make fun of his costume. After they get better acquainted, Tony playfully calls Thor “Point Break,” a reference to the 1991 film where Patrick Swayze’s character, Bodhi, sports a similar hairstyle. This nickname stuck with Thor until Thor: Ragnarok.

Hawkeye

Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) spent most of The Avengers under Loki’s control, but once he got out of it, he joined Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to defeat the trickster and his Chitauri army. At one point during the Battle of New York, Captain America gave out orders about what each member should do. For his job, Hawkeye needed to get up to a high point and asked Iron Man for a lift. Just before they flew up, Tony called Clint “Legolas“—a Lord of the Rings reference given that both characters use a bow and arrows.

Happy

Aside from directing the first two Iron Man movies, Jon Favreau also plays Happy Hogan in the MCU—Tony Stark’s bodyguard and best friend. In Iron Man 3, he was promoted to Stark Industries head of security. During Aldrich Killian’s (Guy Pearce) initial attempt to lure Pepper Potts into his scheme, Happy immediately felt something was sketchy about him. He video called Tony to notify him of the situation. Apparently a tech noob, Happy’s forehead was all his boss could see, which earned him the moniker “Forehead of Security.”

Trevor Slattery/Fake Mandarin

Iron Man 3 pulled arguably one of the most effective villain plot twists when it was revealed the film’s Mandarin – a supposed global terrorist wreaking havoc around the world – was nothing but a paid actor named Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley). Upon learning this, Tony quickly came up with a string of nicknames for him such as “Sir Laurence Olivier” and “Meryl Streep“—two well-known actors. He used “Ringo” as well, referring to The Beatles member, since Slattery looked like him.

Killian’s Henchman

Even when in the most dire situations, Tony couldn’t help but make funny quips. After Killian’s men held him captured, he talked to one henchman who had his long blonde hair tied at his nape. To make light of the situation, Tony called him “Ponytail Express,” referring to his hairdo.

Ultron

The sentient Ultron (James Spader) was particularly disgruntled with Tony Stark in Avengers: Age of Ultron. While the AI, with the help of Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), was busy gathering Vibranium, they were hijacked by the Avengers. Ultron was mad at the heroes for sabotaging his plans, with Tony further irritating him by calling him “Junior.” This was in reference to the AI’s personality, which was essentially like Tony’s but corrupted. On top of that, Iron Man was also pointing out that, since he created him, Ultron was kind of his child.

Wanda

Using her ability to manipulate minds, Wanda induced all Avengers with visions in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Each hero took it differently, but it was the most destructive to Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), who turned into the Hulk. He and Tony came up with a contingency plan in case the green-rage monster came out unintentionally with the creation of the Hulkbuster. During the entirety of the battle, Tony tried to appeal to Hulk/Banner’s consciousness, telling him Wanda, whom he referred to as “Little Witch,” was just messing with him. This was the first time Wanda was called by that name. However, considering her power set, not to mention her comic book alter-ego name Scarlet Witch, the moniker was spot on.

Peter Parker

As one of the MCU’s most important relationships, Tony Stark and Peter Parker (Tom Holland) first met in Captain America: Civil War when the former recruited the young hero for Team Iron Man. Before Spider-Man could join, however, Tony tried to get to know him and asked about his MO. Once Peter revealed his powers and homemade suit, Tony guessed what his superhero persona might be, coming up with “Spider-ling,” “Crime-fighting Spider,” and “Spider-Boy.” Later on, when Tony introduced Spider-Man during the airport battle, he called him “underoos,” referring to his pajama-like suit.

Bucky

When Tony realized Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) was indeed framed in Captain America: Civil War, he followed Steve and Bucky to HYDRA’s Siberian facility. Initially unsure of Tony’s intentions, the friends were ready to take him on until the two Avengers reached an understanding and planned to team up. While Steve was comfortable letting his guard down, Bucky kept his gun aimed at Tony. At this point, Iron Man finally let out a quip, asking him to stand down and calling him “Manchurian Candidate.” This was a reference to Richard Condon’s novel of the same name about the American government brainwashing citizens to be assassins, which pretty much described what happened to Bucky.

Ebony Maw

Shortly after Bruce Banner’s crash into the Sanctum Sanctorum at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, Black Order members Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian arrived in New York, searching for Doctor Strange’s Eye of Agamotto/Time Stone. This resulted in a face-off between the villains and Iron Man, Strange, Wong, and Banner. However, before the real fight began, Tony poked fun at Maw’s appearance while asking him to leave Earth, giving him the nickname “Squidward,” which makes sense considering his resemblance to Spongebob Squarepants‘ anthropomorphic octopus.

Doctor Strange and Wong

During the same encounter in New York with the Black Order members, Tony Stark asked Bruce Banner to turn into the Hulk, as the green-rage monster would be much more helpful in the upcoming battle. Bruce tried several times to turn into his alter-ego to no avail, which had Tony express his disappointment, telling him that his fellow Avenger was embarrassing him in front of “The Wizards,” referring to Doctor Strange and Wong (Benedict Wong).

Drax

Learning about Thanos’ impending arrival in Avengers: Infinity War motivated Tony Stark to take the fight to Titan instead of waiting on Earth. This resulted in meeting some members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, including Drax (Dave Bautista), whom he dubbed “Mr. Clean” due to the character’s resemblance to the Proctor & Gamble brand mascot.

Star-Lord

While Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and the Guardians of the Galaxy eventually learned they were all out to get Thanos, they disagreed on how to move forward with their plan of attack. Tony and Star-Lord in particular butted heads regarding their course of action, while the rest of their teams watched them bicker. To end their non-sensical discussion, Tony opted to walk away from the conversation, telling Peter not to listen to “Flash Gordon,” referring to Quill’s space adventures not unlike the titular character of the 1980 movie.

Nebula

At the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, Tony Stark recorded what he intended to be his final message to Pepper Potts while he was stuck in space, floating aimlessly with the dead Benatar. He explained his rash decision to go to Titan and revealed his current situation, adding he survived the injury he got fighting Thanos thanks to “Blue Meanie.” Tony was referring to Nebula (Karen Gillan), who’s both blue and can definitely be mean.

Doctor Strange

Tony and Nebula safely returned home thanks to Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), but he was still reeling from their loss, especially as Steve continued to quiz him about what happened in Titan. Tony talked about Doctor Strange, whom he dubbed “Bleecker Street Magician,” giving out the Time Stone to save his life. The nickname came from the address of the Sanctum Sanctorum, which is the wizard’s residence. Tony knew about this having visited the place at the start of Avengers: Infinity War.

Rocket

When Tony asked about Thor, who was eerily quiet during the same scene, Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) answered. Surprised by this, Iron Man couldn’t help but say that, for a second, he thought the Guardians of the Galaxy member was a “Build-a-Bear,” referring to the creature looking like a stuffed toy. After Avengers: Endgame‘s five-year time-jump, the team reconvened to get ready for the time heist, and Rocket’s mechanical skills were of great help. At one point, Tony checked up on his progress, wherein he called him “Ratchet.” This is due to the video game Ratchet and Clank, which features a humanoid creature with a spaceship.

Fat Thor

Avengers: Endgame‘s time jump wasn’t kind to Thor, as his failure to stop Thanos plunged him into a deep depression which caused him to gain weight. While the team was preparing for the time heist, the God of Thunder was pretty much out of it, still drinking beer and not in the right mindset. The Avengers let him be, understanding what he was going through. At one point, Tony good-naturedly called him “Lebowski” as a result of his similarities with The Dude in the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski.

Hulk

With the team ready for the time heist following Captain America’s rousing speech, Smart Hulk was tasked to power up the bigger version of the Quantum Tunnel that would transport them to their designated time periods. Tony gave Banner the go-ahead to start the machine, calling him “Jolly Green.” Considering Hulk is best known for his rage, seeing a version of the character more joyful and relaxed gave Tony the opportunity to make a tongue-in-cheek joke.

Ant-Man

While Tony Stark and Scott Lang didn’t know each other that long in the MCU, they spent a considerable amount of time together in Avengers: Endgame. As they teamed up to swipe the Tesseract/Space Stone, they devised a plan to accomplish their goal quietly. Tony gave Ant-Man two different nicknames: “Thumbelina” and “Stuart Little“—both in reference to the hero’s ability to shrink. Later on, as Iron Man and Captain America prepared to go to the ’70s, Scott reminded them that if they failed, they wouldn’t be able to come back. Both took the warning seriously but were also ready to take the risk. Tony thanked Scott for his pep talk, ending it by giving him another moniker, “PissAnt,” which is a combined version of “piss-off” and “Ant-Man.”

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